Review: Dallas gallery show offers a unique take on women in film
By Michael Granberry | July 14t, 2012
Cool things are happening at Kirk Hopper Fine Art
in Deep Ellum. First of all, its current show, “History, Film and Dynamite,” celebrating the art of
Daniela Comani, is a hoot. As conversation pieces
go, it’s one of the best.
It’s a bold feminist statement and yet playful and
fun. Comani seizes on movie posters and DVD covers to throw an artistic curveball. What if some of the
most famous films in cinematic history carried these
titles? Queen Kong, All the President’s Women, The
Godmother, The Last Empress and (I kid you not)
Scent of a Man.
“In my opinion, it’s about the state of women in the
world,” says gallery director Liliana Bloch. “The
movie industry is dominated by men, who tend to be
the most important characters in any story.”
Those who see the titles the first time almost always
do a double-take. Comani’s show provokes much
the same reaction as Adam McEwen’s exhibition at
Goss-Michael Foundation. McEwen, a former obituary writer for a London newspaper, offers poster-size
death notices for people who haven’t died: Nicole
Kidman, Bill Clinton, Macaulay Culkin. McEwen
calls it his effort to “highlight the blurred line between history and fiction.”
Compelling art carries with it a sense of surprise,
which McEwen and Comani fully understand.
“All The President’ s Women” by Daniela Comani; archival pigment print
Born in Bologna, Italy, Comani lives in Berlin. Her multimedia installations, according to her presenters at Kirk Hopper,
“engage in a dialogue about history, language, identity, alienation and intimacy.” Her piece, It was Me. Diary 1900-1999,
takes up most of a large white wall in the high-ceilinged, airy space at Kirk Hopper. It was shown most recently at the
54th Venice Biennale. It offers 100 years of history in the first person and out of chronological order, allowing Comani to
be a passive witness, an activist, a victim and a perpetrator.
“History, Film and Dynamite” shows through July 21 at Kirk Hopper Fine Art, 3008 Commerce St., Dallas. McEwen’s
work stays until July 28 at the Goss-Michael Foundation, 1405 Turtle Creek Blvd. in Dallas.